- INTRODUCTION
When asked to provide a legal employer with references, the employer wants a list of names, mailing addresses, email addresses, and telephone numbers of individuals who have agreed to be contacted to discuss your qualifications.
References are different from letters of recommendations. Letters of recommendation are formal letters that support your application by providing a written statement of your achievements and an endorsement of your skills and/or your character based on the firsthand knowledge of the recommender. Few employers request or require letters of recommendation. Typically, letters of recommendation are required for post-graduate judicial clerkships, fellowships, and some elite government positions.
- EIGHT RULES FOR SELECTING AND ORGANIZING REFERENCES
1. Permission required. You absolutely must request permission of the individuals you intend to include on your reference list in advance of adding them to the list. It is highly unprofessional, and possibly harmful to your candidacy, to identify someone as a reference without receiving prior confirmation from the person of his/her/their willingness to endorse you. Never assume that a professor or supervising attorney will agree to support your candidacy.
2. Professional, not personal. Legal employers are expecting professional references. Professional references are individuals with direct knowledge of your legal or other relevant skills, communication skills, work ethic, and overall professionalism. References may include law professors, adjunct professors, supervising attorneys from clinical and internship placements, attorneys with whom you worked at a legal clinic, directors of compliance or athletic directors, and judges. Undergraduate professors may also be included, but they do not carry the same value as law professors. Similarly, supervisors from non-legal positions may be included, but they may not have the same worth as a reference who worked with you in a legal setting. Prior supervisors from professional positions are more effective than supervisors from part-time, non-professional positions. Avoid including people who are personal friends of yours and/or your family. The exception may be if you do not have other options and the individual is a member of the legal community despite not having seen your work personally.
3. More is not necessarily better. Three to five names are preferred. If you have more references that are of equal stature and quality, you may include them. Having said that, it is better to have three very solid references who will reflect well upon you and speak highly of you when contacted than having seven individuals listed who have limited knowledge of you and/or your work.
4. Make thoughtful selections. The individuals you select for inclusion on your reference list reflect you. Your decision to include someone as a reference should be thoughtful and deliberate. Consider the following when choosing references:
- Will the person speak well of you by sharing specific examples containing relevant information? Discuss with your references what they intend to share about you, your career goals, your strengths, etc. Doing so allows you to assess the strength of the reference. As appropriate, you then can direct references to specific and notable accomplishments.
- Does the individual have social skills that will make it a comfortable conversation for the employer contacting them?
- Is prestige more important than knowledge? You need to determine whether it is better to include an individual with a less prestigious or prominent title/position but who is intimately familiar with your work product (e.g., a former manager at a retail store) or a credentialed reference who only knows you peripherally (e.g., a law school professor whose class you did well in but who couldn't pick you out of a crowd of two).
- Is the reference readily available during the period in which he/she/they may be contacted?
- The employer to whom their name was given;
5. Educate your references before applying. Your commitment to your references is ongoing throughout your job search. For your references to be best poised to speak about you in meaningful ways, you must keep your references informed as to your job search progress and activities. Provide your references with a current copy of your résumé. Also, every time you provide a reference list to an employer, inform your references with a brief statement of the following:
- A few key reason(s) why you want that particular job;
- A concise description of what the position would entail (criminal defense work, family law, IP law, general practice, large firm, in-house counsel position, etc.);
- A few skills the employer is seeking in a candidate;
- How your experiences and credentials match the skills the employer is seeking; and
- If your reference is not privy to the workings of the legal world, information such as the prominence of the particular firm locally or nationally, the function of a summer associate/law clerk program, etc.
6. Update your references after applying. Update your references with notable job-related events (i.e., an invitation for a second interview, an offer). Do exercise good judgment in updating your references, so that you do not overload the references with emails and information. Also, make certain your references always have the most current copy of your résumé.
7. Professional presentation. Most commonly, you will submit reference lists electronically. When emailing a list, save the document as a PDF, and attach it separately from your résumé. When printing a reference list, do so on résumé-quality paper. The letterhead of your list of references should match that of your résumé. If your connection to the reference is not apparent from the information on your résumé, indicate the relationship on your reference page (see Sample #2, below). Upon receiving permission, include your references' professional titles, employer information, telephone numbers, and e-mail addresses.
8. Order. The order of references may be influenced by a variety of considerations, including listing first the person who best knows you and your qualifications, alphabetical, recognition to reader (e.g., a partner at the firm to which you are applying), or prestige of position (e.g., an appellate judge might come before a store manager).
Sample #1
EMIL OBI
3544 Maple Avenue, Milwaukee, WI 53207
(414)555-3221 | emil.obi@marquette.edu
REFERENCES
Shanice Smithe, Partner
Quarles & Brady LLP
411 E. Wisconsin Avenue
Milwaukee, WI 53202
414-914-4001
ssmithe@quarles.com
Julie Thomas, Professor of Law
Marquette University Law School
Eckstein Hall
1215 W. Michigan Street
Milwaukee, WI 53233
414-288-8110
julie.thomas@marquette.edu
Thomas C. McKenzie, Vice President
Anchor Bank
1220 W. Northland Avenue
Appleton, WI 54914
920-997-3909
tcmckenzie@anchorbank.com
Sample #2
Josiah Jones
Milwaukee, WI
414.555.3221 | josiah.jones@marquette.edu
REFERENCES
Professor Linda Chávez
Marquette University Law School
Eckstein Hall
1215 W. Michigan St.
Milwaukee, WI 53233
414.288.1234
linda.chavez@marquette.edu
Supervised research assistant position, Spring 2024
Atty. Mark S. Russell
Jefferson, Stein & Russell, S.C.
17400 W. North Avenue, Suite 200
Brookfield, WI 53005
262.757.0050
markr@jsrlaw.com
Served as mentor during legal internship, Fall 2023
Mx. Francisco da Silva
Senior Project Engineer GE Medical, Engineering Division
1111 Plank Road
Pewaukee, WI 53045
262.222.3333
fdasilva@gemedical.com
Supervised electrical engineering internship, Spring 2021